analyzing test data trends

I was diagnosed on May 30th: CD4 = 259, VL = 29000. On June 26th, CD4 = 327, VL = 20000. I switched to a new doctor and had bloodwork done on 09 July: CD4 = 365, VL results not back yet.

Question: Even switching doctors (and presumably labs), does this constitute enough of an upward trend that you would recommend holding off on starting HAART at least until the next labwork in 3 months? I want to be smart about my therapy, but don't want to start any time sooner than I need to. I have no symptoms save for slight fatigue caused by low testosterone (just started testim this morning).

Thank you for your thoughtful answer and the great work that you do.

Response from Dr. Young

Thanks for your question.

The first thing to bear in mind is that there is considerable day to day variation in CD4 counts. One way to see if the changes that your labs note are real (or significant) are to look at your CD4 count percentages-- if there are not significant, then you would not see large changes in the percentage (say less than 2% would be not significant).

If there is any doubt, repeating the tests and monitoring things would not be unreasonable, provided that you were feeling well (asymptomatic). Knowing that you've just started on testosterone replacement should certainly allow some time to see if this treatment improves your overall health while waiting for the results.

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